Activists of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) sustained injuries in a police lathicharge during an SFI protest march to the University of Kerala headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday in protest against the rendition of the full version of Vande Mataram during the National Sports Day celebrations organised by the University earlier in the day.

The protest turned tense after the police stopped the SFI activists at the university gate. The police deployed water cannon to disperse the protesters. Soon after, the police resorted to lathicharge, in which two female activists sustained injuries. The protesters eventually entered the campus by scaling the compound wall and raised slogans against Kerala University Vice Chancellor (in-charge) Mohanan Kunnummal and the State government, accusing them of running the university as per the Sangh Parivar’s diktats.

SFI state president P.S. Sanjeev said that SFI Central Committee member Arya Prasad and State Secretariat member Vaishnavi sustained injuries to their head. He said that the SFI will continue its protests to prevent the universities of the State from being ceded to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The SFI will take out a march to the Secretariat on Wednesday in protest against the police action.

Accusing the police of unleashing a brutal attack on the students without any provocation, Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan said that intolerance towards the protests against the UDF government’s subservience to the Sangh Parivar is behind the police brutality. “The students exercised their right to protest democratically. Their protests should be faced through discussion and democratic means. The government’s attempt to suppress the protests using lathi and force is unacceptable. It is shocking that the police even hit a student in the eye with a lathi. The police brutally beat up even the female students without the presence of women police officers. The officers who unjustly lathi-charged the students should be immediately removed and a thorough investigation should be conducted. Strict action should be taken against the guilty officers,” he said.